Better Than Chocolate
by athenanoctea
Summary: Neither one had expected this moment would happen while sitting in the dirt, eating chocolate.


**Title: **Better Than Chocolate

**Author: **carpenyx

**Date:** 4/5/2008

**Rating: **PG

**Genre:** Fluff, Romance

**Characters: **Daniel/Vala

**Spoilers: **None; takes place after season 10

**Summary: **_Neither one had expected this moment would happen while sitting in the dirt, eating chocolate._

**Beta: **nebakanezer

**Disclaimer: **Just playing in the Stargate 'verse, no profit being made, etc, etc. Just for my own little pleasure of seeing two of my favorite characters have fun. :)

**Better Than Chocolate**

"Ready?" Daniel glanced over the brim of his glasses at Vala. He stood at the foot of the ramp leading to the shimmering event horizon.

Vala gave a nod and lifted up her backpack, taking note of the weight. She was sure it had been heavier. "You did it again," she hissed. The pack dropped to the ground before swinging around, hands on hips. She glared at Daniel.

"Vala."

"Daniel."

"Majority of the worlds we visit are primitive to ours. They don't have electricity to power your hairdryer and curling iron, and what in the world would you need with a _dozen_ magazines?"

She narrowed her eyes a little more. "Not that I have to explain myself to you but the magazines are for when I get bored. Bored watching you look at rocks, books, or whatchamacallits all… and I stress – _all_ -- day long."

"The hairdryer and curling iron?"

"Contrary to what everyone believes I don't wake up with gorgeous hair like this. It requires work," she said with a toss of her hair.

"That's not all that requires work," he mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that."

Daniel concealed his grin and stepped towards the ramp, the rippling event horizon in front of him. "You coming?"

Vala sulked, grabbing her pack, and slipped it over her shoulder. "Why isn't Muscles helping you instead of me anyway?"

"Busy."

She cocked a brow. Last time she saw Teal'c, he and Mitchell were playing that Earth game machine – Playstation – in the lounge. "Didn't want to spend all day watching you stare at rocks either?"

Daniel grumbled something under his breath as he stepped through the stargate.

Vala giggled as she skipped the last few steps and disappeared into the wavy blue wormhole after him.

oooooooooooooooooooo

"Daniel," Vala whined. "It's hot." She was lying on the ground on her side, propped up on her elbow, and twirling a strand of hair.

"It's not that bad," he told her.

Vala scrunched up her face. "Daniel, I'm hungry."

"Stop whining." Daniel had been studying one particular stone for three hours straight. It didn't surprise him that Vala was protesting but he really had to finished what he was doing.

"Why don't you come over here and sit with me?" She patted the space next to her.

"No."

"Why waste a perfectly nice day playing in the dirt?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm so bored," she griped, rolling onto her back and looking up at the sky. "Don't you ever get bored of looking at those thingys all the time?"

"No," he said.

Vala tilted her head to look at Daniel. "You know what they say about staring at rocks all day, don't you?"

Daniel lifted his head, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose slightly. "No and that's not an invitation to tell me either. Why don't you go into the village and mingle or do… whatever it is that you do…"

Vala sat up and frowned. "You are such a party pooper, Daniel."

oooooooooooooooooooo

"I never have fun on these missions," she pouted as she headed along the dirt path to the village.

Vala reached into her vest, grabbing the _Vogue_ magazine that was nestled underneath her shirt and secured by her belt. She wasn't all that surprised by Daniel stealing her stash. He'd done it often enough but she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

The magazine was wrinkled but it didn't bother her. She flipped through the glossy pages, randomly making 'oohs' and 'aahs' sounds, and admiring the pretty photos while walking.

oooooooooooooooooooo

He didn't show it but he watched her disappear down the path out of the corner of his eye. He felt bad for sending her away but it was only because he knew how bored she was.

Daniel took off his glasses and wiped his brow. "Do you guys mind watching things for a little bit? I need to take a break."

"Of course, doctor," the soldier replied.

"Thanks," he said with a slight grin and rose to his feet.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Vala admired a necklace at one of the merchants' stands. This wasn't so bad. It didn't compare with the shopping malls on Earth though.

An old man swatted at Vala's hand. "You touch, you buy," he snarled.

She blinked, looking at the merchant. If she wasn't her new and improved self, she'd consider swiping the necklace just to spite the old man. Instead, she moved along and browsed some other stalls before stumbling upon an old bakery type place.

Vala felt just a little bad for or for being a nuisance to Daniel. He worked so hard and she knew she could be quite relentless when she was bored. She wanted to do something special for him, to let him know that she appreciated him.

Cakes, candies, and pies would put a smile on anyone's face.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Daniel shoved his hands into his pockets as he entered the village. He kept a close eye out for Vala. He didn't want her catching him and ruining his surprise.

Despite on occasion… or a lot, getting frustrated with Vala, he always did enjoy her company. He would never let on how much he enjoyed spending time with her… he didn't really like admitting it to himself but truth was, she gave him a lot more than he ever expected. He found that he hadn't felt this way about another person in a very long time.

He visited a little bakeshop that he found on their earlier trip to the village. He remembered there were some different kinds of treats that looked quite similar to Earth baked goods. One in particular caught his eye – their equivalent of chocolate.

"Do you mind if I try a little of this?" he asked the old lady with grey eyes, pointing to the chocolate look-alike.

"Of course," she said with a cheery smile as she placed a small piece on a cloth napkin and handed it him.

Daniel took a bite of the chocolate and instinctively closed his eyes – it was delicious. "That's the one."

oooooooooooooooooooo

Vala went into the small corner bakery. The nice short, red haired man offered her a variety of different treats to sample. "Ooh my, these are divine!"

The man nodded. "The best in town."

"This," she said. "This one."

"Good choice."

Vala realized she didn't have any currency. "Would you be willing to trade?"

"What did you have in mind?" the shopkeeper inquired.

It wasn't difficult to convince the man to trade the candy for the _Vogue_ magazine. She had been one of the best manipulators and traders of her time. Besides, who could pass up on shiny photos of pretty things? The shopkeeper traded a pound of his best fudge-like candy for one magazine.

Vala left the shop grinning ear to ear. It would be the perfect surprise for Daniel and it'd be her way of letting him know that she was sorry.

oooooooooooooooooooo

Daniel arrived back to camp before Vala. He put the box of chocolate into his pack for safe keeping and returned to work.

Vala came walking up the path when she spotted Daniel sitting in the same spot she left him.

"Welcome back," he said, not looking in her direction.

Vala wrinkled her nose. It bothered her a little that he was still working.

"What's wrong?" he said monotonously, just to irk her a little.

"Oh… nothing." Vala folded her arms.

Daniel smiled slowly as he looked at her. "Don't pout."

"I'll pout if I want to."

"If you continue to pout, you won't get your present."

Vala perked at the word 'present'.

Daniel smiled a little more. "Promise to stop pouting?"

"No," she said as she sat down next to Daniel. "But I'll try." Vala grinned widely. "I got you a little something also."

"You did?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

"Well, you first…" Daniel reached into his pack and pulled out a small box that was tied with a ribbon. "I wanted say thank you for coming along even though you didn't want to." He handed it to her.

"I wanted to come," she said quietly as she took the gift from him.

"What was that?" Daniel looked at her.

Vala shrugged. "I don't always mind coming along." She whispered under her breathe and looked at him, pulling a small box from her vest and passing it to him. "I wanted to get you something to say sorry. I know I can be a little … bothersome," she offered with a small smile.

"A little?" Daniel winked at her.

"All right, a lot but that's only because you-"

"I'm sorry," he cut her off.

Vala fiddled with the ribbon. "I'm sorry too."

Both pulled the string off their boxes. Daniel couldn't help but laugh a little when he saw what was inside. The expression on Vala's face made him laugh even harder. Both had gotten the other chocolate.

"Where'd you get it?" Vala asked. "I didn't see you…"

Daniel just smiles at her, smugly.

"Well, my gift is apparently the best in town," Vala stated with a grin.

"Oh really? I think you'll find that this is superb quality chocolate."

"Mine's better."

"Vala…"

"Yes?"

"Shut up," he said under his breath. The distance between them grew smaller as he leaned towards her. He could feel her breath against his lips as he cupped her face in his hands. Daniel felt her tense a little under his touch but he didn't hesitate. He moved in closer and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly.

Neither one had expected this moment would happen while sitting in the dirt, eating chocolate.

Vala finally relaxed into the kiss.

Daniel slowly pulled away, a little out of breath and asked, "How was that?"

"Better than chocolate," she said breathlessly.


End file.
